A faction of the Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for a deadly bombing of a political office in the central Pakistani city of Dera Ghazi Khan.
Seven people were killed and 13 injured after bombs targeted the campaign office of a local lawmaker, police told CNN. They said initial reports suggested that two men riding bikes detonated explosives strapped to their bodies.
A spokesman for the Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan Jamaat ul Ahrar faction, Ehsanullah Ehsan, claimed his group carried out the attack on the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz office.
The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz is the party of Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif.
In an email, Ehsan vowed that TTPJA attacks would continue until Sharia law was fully implemented in Pakistan.
“We want to make it clear to the Pakistani rulers that your policies and military operations can’t weaken our determinations rather our firm determination helps us in achieving and attacking our targets,” he said.
Dera Ghazi Khan is in Pakistan’s Punjab province, which is holding local elections.
The Pakistani Taliban, known as the TTP, share the same religious extremist ideology as their Afghan namesake but are a distinct group.
Their primary target is the Pakistani state and the military.
The TTP are fighting to overthrow Pakistan’s government via a terrorist campaign, according to the U.S. State Department.
TTPJA split from the TTP in 2014 but announced it was rejoining the main group earlier this year, Reuters reported.
